Bachelor Creek Church of Christ will host a Night to Shine, a prom focused on celebrated people with special needs, at the Honeywell Center’s Legacy Hall on Friday, Feb. 8.

“We’re really trying to change Valentine’s Day weekend from a celebration of love to just a celebration of God’s love, even for people with special needs,” said David Diener, Bachelor Creek’s student minister. “This is going to be an unforgettable prom night, just to show everybody has value and everybody has worth, because they’re created in God’s image, even people with special needs. We’re just really excited to celebrate that.”

A request from a Wabash County resident to create a multi-family housing complex just south of Mill Street received approval on first reading by the Wabash City Council.

Dave Snavely received approval by a 4-2 vote in spite of concerns aired by representatives of the Wabash Wildlife & Sportsman’s Association, a shooting range about 100 yards west of the proposed development. The council will consider the matter again when it meets on Jan. 28.

In December, Snavely received approval from the Wabash Plan Commission.

Snavely proposes to develop a six-acre piece of land into residential units, either duplex, triplex or quadplexes, he told the Plan commission on Dec. 5.

City officials will meet with representatives of the Indiana Department of Transportation to see if INDOT will help to resolve an erosion problem at a local home, caused in part by an INDOT construction project.

Mayor Scott Long, during the Wabash Board of Public Works and Safety meeting on Thursday, Jan. 17, asked Street Superintendent Scott Richardson and Wastewater Treatment Plant Superintendent Bob Gray to contact INDOT about the situation.

It was brought to light by Ken Goble and Steve Gray, who approached the board to see what help the city could give in resolving the situation at the home of Betty Benson, 1320 N. Cass St.

Goble told the board that the problem started a few years back when INDOT replaced drains near State Road 15 and U.S. 24.

Wabash High School officials have announced the school will launch its Unified Sports program in the spring, created a Unified track and field squad as a starting point.

Unified Sports is a collaborative partnership between the Indiana High School Athletic Association and Special Olympics Indiana that promotes servant leadership among student athletes while changing their lives as well as the lives of those with intellectual disabilities.

Since its inception in 2012, Special Olympics International has supported Unified Sports as a model program to activate schools through “Project Unify,” which also has the endorsement of the National Federation of High Schools.

A Wabash County man was recently named a Sagamore of the Wabash, the highest award a Hoosier citizen can receive.

The man, Ken Perkins, received the honor on Dec. 19 during a reception prior to the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Holiday Pops Concert at the Honeywell Center.

“I was totally surprised,” Perkins told The Paper of Wabash County. “I was honored and humbled. Some really neat people have gotten that award before me, so I felt very pleased to be a part of that group.”

Perkins said he nearly didn’t attend the concert.

“I just retired in September from First Farmers Bank and Trust after 14 years with them,” he said. “They host the concert and have a big reception beforehand. They asked me to come and do the invocation.”